"Dad, we're about to head out, and we'll let Emma chat with you a little later..."
He looked at Elijah Schmidt, his dark eyes filled with gratitude, and for the first time, he called Elijah "Dad" instead of "Father."
This form of address made Elijah pause, but then he smiled.
"Go on, be careful about her health." He waved his hand, feeling a slight emotional stir that he hid well.
"We're leaving, Dad..." Emma smiled as she and Walter Schmidt walked out of the study together.
After their figures disappeared through the door, Elijah finally turned to look at the closed door, his usual stern and hard expression softened, revealing a rare, moved smile.
Just because of his son's one word, "Dad," he found it hard to suppress his emotional stir; that ordinary one word of "Dad," in an instant, brought the father-son relationship closer.
He liked his son calling him that, and it moved him...
